Have The Swans Lost Their Wings?

Have the Swans lost their wings? I think it’s best we firstly to talk about the drumming of Swansea in the hands of Chelsea. An emphatic 5-0 away win for the deadly blues, I don’t think anyone could have anticipated this score line. 

Where did it all go wrong? Let’s begin with the biggest January transfer window news so far, Wilfred Bony making his way to City, there is no wonder that the Swans struggled to even score a goal. Gomis the lone striker failed to make an impact as well as the early substitute Emnes and really the whole team were shooting blanks as there was no shots on target. 

I personally thought it would be a tight knit game but how wrong was I. Took the visitors 50 seconds to open the scoring, so the Swans were in trouble from early. Brought on by a misplaced pass to allow Oscar for his first of the match. However apart from the mistakes made by Swansea, Chelsea passed really well especially for the 2nd goal with Costa rounding it off or his 16th goal of the season. 

Mistakes galore! failed back pass to keeper let to 3rd goal. It was only first half and they conceded 4 goals. Swansea were truly outplayed in all departments. Passing with fluidity, confidence and looked like a side of champions I must admit. 

Chelsea played fantastically but then again Swansea by far didn't have the best of games also. So Chelsea move 5 points clear head of City, and as we know City have a tough game, hosting the north London club Arsenal who are on a good run of performances.

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The Best Premier League Matches Of The Festive Season

For football fans, one of the best things about the holiday season is that matches continue without interruption in the major European leagues. This means we can all spend some of our time away from work taking in the matches and getting a nice look at how the teams look heading into 2015 and soon the second half of the league campaigns. So with that in mind, here's a glance at some of the top Premier League fixtures to keep your eye on this festive period.

Aston Villa v. Manchester United (December 20)

Much has been made of Man Utd.'s recent hot streak, which has propelled them all the way up to third place in the league tables. Following the club's recent 3-0 dismantling of Liverpool at Old Trafford, the Daily Mail even went so far as to declare the EPL a three-horse title race (with many still assuming it'll come down to Chelsea and Manchester City). But Aston Villa can be a tricky club when playing at home, so this is an interesting match to watch. If there's a game that could trip up Man Utd. before 2015, this is probably it.

Liverpool v. Arsenal (December 21)

Liverpool is having a disastrous go of it thus far, and the aforementioned 3-0 loss at Man Utd. didn't help matters. Now, a December 21 fixture in which the club hosts Arsenal is beginning to resemble a make-or-break contest. Bet Fair analyst Luke Moore wrote about Liverpool's outlook standing as one of the EPL stories to watch in the coming weeks. He even went so far as to suggest that Brendan Rodgers may be coaching for his job. Meanwhile, Arsenal is hoping to gain some momentum.

Chelsea v. West Ham (December 26)

Chelsea will likely go into this match as the strong favourite, and justifiably so. But a cross-town rivalry in London yields no sure results, and West Ham has been stronger than most anyone anticipated this season. This should be one of the most intriguing fixtures of the season.

Manchester United v. Newcastle (December 26)

As mentioned, Man Utd. has come on strong of late, but Newcastle has had a fairly impressive campaign as well. Its claim to fame is becoming the first club to beat Chelsea in a league match this season, as Newcastle won their Week 15 contest 2-1. But Newcastle then followed up that result by taking a 4-1 clobbering from Arsenal. Man Utd. will be favoured, but it shouldn't overlook a Newcastle squad that's trying to get back on track.

Southampton v. Chelsea (December 28)

There aren't many fixtures that one can point at and label as a chance that Chelsea may lose, but this is one of them. The Atlantic posted an interesting piece at the beginning of December that gives sound reasoning for Southampton's improbably hot start to likely meet an end—and they're probably right. But this has nevertheless been one of the EPL's most impressive teams thus far, and one never knows what may come up with hosting Chelsea in December.

West Ham v. Arsenal (December 28)

If Arsenal can handle Liverpool in the previously highlighted match, it will have generated some very positive momentum heading toward the second half of the season, with a top-four finish in its sights. West Ham will then become a very intriguing obstacle, and as noted when discussing the Chelsea v. West Ham fixture on December 26, cross-London rivalries make for extra intrigue. This will also be a great opportunity for Arsenal, in that West Ham will only have one day of rest between the matches.

Any EPL match holds the potential to entertain, but if you're looking for a few fixtures to highlight for holiday season viewing, these look to be the best of the bunch!
 
 

Premier League Permutations

Has there ever been another season like this one? I stand to be corrected, but I cannot remember another season where the Premier League headed into the final round of fixtures with the title, two Champions League spots, 2 Europa League spots and one relegation place all still being fought over.

Some of the permutations are fairly simple. Others seem to conjure up so many different possibilities that it is hard to fathom, and thinking about it makes your head hurt and ears bleed.

The following is my attempt to make sense of all the different possibilities that we still find ourselves facing with only one set of fixtures to go.

The Title

This one is simple. With both Manchester clubs level on 86 points, but with Manchester City having a goal difference eight better than United, all Manchester City need to do is match United's result in their last game. Whatever result Manchester United achieve away to Sunderland then City just need to get the same result at home to Queen's Park Rangers.

In order for Manchester United to win the title then they have to hope that City draw or lose to QPR, and that they themselves do better. If both teams win then United would need to make up nine goals on City and that is not going to happen.

Champions League Qualification

This is where the fun starts!

Manchester City and Manchester United have both already qualified for the group stages of the 2012/13 Champions league by already having a top two position in the Premier League guaranteed.

The team that finishes in third place in the Premier League will also qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. At this stage, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United all still have a chance of finishing third.

Arsenal have the clearest route to third place. If they win away to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday then they will finish on 70 points and take third place. Winning their last game keeps finishing third entirely in Arsenal's own hands.

Should Arsenal draw against WBA then they have to hope that Spurs fail to win at home to Fulham. Although Newcastle could mathematically catch Arsenal if Arsenal drew, the far superior goal difference that Arsenal have means that a draw would see them guaranteed to finish above Newcastle.

If Arsenal were to lose away to WBA then they would need to hope that neither Tottenham or Newcastle win their final game in order to hold onto third spot. In addition, if Arsenal lost by more than one goal then they would also need Tottenham not to draw against Fulham as this would see Spurs overtake the Gunners on goal difference.

Tottenham Hotspur cannot finish third if Arsenal win against WBA. If Arsenal fail to win then a win for Spurs at home to Fulham will guarantee them third place.

If Tottenham draw at home to Fulham then they have to rely on Arsenal losing by two goals or more against WBA and Newcastle failing to win away to Everton.

Tottenham cannot finish third if they lose at home to Fulham.

Newcastle United must win away to Everton to stand any chance of finishing third. A draw or defeat would leave Newcastle able to finish no higher than fifth. Even if Newcastle win then they must rely on Arsenal losing and Tottenham failing to win.

Confused yet?......

The fourth Champions League qualifier will not be decided on the final day of the season.

If Chelsea win the Champions League final against Bayern Munich they will take the fourth Champions League spot and enter the Champions League at the group stage as title holders.

This will have no affect on the top three as they will all still enter at the group stage. However, it will mean that the fourth place team will qualify for the Europa League instead of the Champions League as no country may have more than four entrants to the competition.

However, if Chelsea lose the Champions League final then the fourth placed team in the Premier League will qualify for the play-off round of the Champions League.

Arsenal are guaranteed a top four place if they win or draw against WBA.

If Arsenal lose then they will still finish in the top four if either of the following happen:

• (1): Tottenham lose against Fulham or Tottenham draw and Arsenal only lose by one goal.
• (2): Newcastle fail to beat Everton.

Tottenham are guaranteed to finish in the top four if they win at home to Fulham.

If Tottenham draw against Fulham then they will still finish in the top four provided Newcastle fail to beat Everton.

If Tottenham lose against Fulham then they will still finish in the top four provided Newcastle fail to beat Everton.

Newcastle United must beat Everton at Goodison Park in order to finish in the top four and hope that Arsenal lose and Tottenham fail to win.

Newcastle cannot finish in the top four if they draw or lose against Everton.

Europa League

Liverpool have qualified for the Europa League as League Cup winners and will enter the competition in the 3rd preliminary round.

If Chelsea do not win the Champions League then they will qualify for the Europa League as F.A. Cup winners and will enter the competition at the group stage.

The fifth placed team in the league will qualify for the Europa League and enter the competition in the play-off round.

If Chelsea win the Champions League then the fourth placed team will qualify for the Europa League and enter the competition in the group stage.

The team who finish fifth will also qualify and will enter the competition at the play-off round.

Nobody else other than Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle, Chelsea or Liverpool have any possibilty of qualifying for the Europa League, with Liverpool being the only team sure that the Europa League is the competition they will be competing in.

Relegation

Although not mathematically safe, Aston Villa's goal difference means that they will not now be relegated.

Wigan Athletic are safe following their win away at Blackburn on Monday night.

Blackburn Rovers were relegated following their defeat at home to Wigan on Monday night, joining Wolverhampton Wanderers who were already down.

Bolton Wanderers must win at Stoke City and hope that Queens Park Rangers fail to pick up any points. Technically, Bolton can still overtake QPR if QPR draw, but they would need a swing in goal difference of nine goals to achieve that.

Queen's Park Rangers will be safe if they beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

They will still be safe if they draw provided Bolton fail to make up nine goals in beating Stoke. If Bolton fail to win they will be safe no matter the outcome of their own game.

I hope that helps. I'm going for a lie down now because my head hurts!!

Updated Monday 7th May 22:00 following Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Wigan Athletic
Updated Tuesday 8th May 22:00 following Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea

Pappis Cisse Wonder Goal - Video

Pappis Cisse scored two amazing goals against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight, but the second goal was absolutely outrageous. I don't imagine it will be too long until this is taken down from youtube, but in the meantime, for those who haven't seen it - enjoy!

Absolute screamer!! Just click on full screen to see the goal clearer. No matter what team you support you can't help but be impressed

One man who certainly seemed to enjoy the goal was Steve Claridge...perhaps a little too much?

Used with permission

Postcard from Obscurity: Mateja Kezman

It's pretty fair to say that one time Chelsea forward Mateja Kežman has disappeared off football's 'big time' radar since his heady days at Stamford Bridge. RBB last saw the Serbian appear for Atletico Madrid a while back and was shocked to see him back in action for BATE Borisov during the group stages of this season's Champions League.

The once prolific forward was a hugely promising talent having emerged as a teenage sensation for Partizan Belgrade in his native Serbia with 43 goals in 74 games and collecting a league title with the club to boot. It didn't take long for a bigger club to come calling and PSV Eindhoven sealed his signature in what turned out to be an incredible deal. During his 4 years in the Netherlands Kežman notched up 129 goals in only 176 games, firing the club to 2 Eredivisie titles and 3 Dutch Super Cups in the process. His goalscoring exploits meant he quickly became a fan favourite and the Serbian picked up the nickname 'Batman' as the club played the theme tune every time Kežman scored. This led to a devastating partnership of 'Batman and Robben' as the Dutch footballing superstar Arjen Robben was also plying his trade at PSV at the time.


Read the rest at www.resultsbasedbusiness.co.uk 

Champions League: Good Times, Bad Times

Good Times
Chelsea: A convincing 3-0 win at home against non other than Valencia to send Abramovich's team through as group winners. The pressure was on Andre Villas-Boas and he delivered in style, and you can't ask for much more than that.

Basel: Not many teams will take Manchester United for 4 points from 2 games this season, and a record like that means they deserve their place in the illustrious knockout stages. Any team with ambitions of winning 'old big ears' should swot the Swiss team aside but with Shaqiri a constant livewire Basel could cause a few problems for someone.

Barcelona Reserves: They may 'only' have been playing lowly BATE but for a team with, at a rough count, 8 reserve/youth team players Barcelona were absolutely amazing to watch. They really did look like the full team which is a testament to the club's La Masia youth academy, oh and keep an eye out for Cuenca and Montoya among others.

Continued at http://www.resultsbasedbusiness.co.uk/

Worrying Reading For Chelsea Fans

I know its early in the season and way too soon to be jumping to conclusions, but they often say that one of the major factors that dictates the level of success you will achieve is how you get on against the teams around you. I was going to show a 'big six' league, but for the moment you can't ignore that Newcastle are sitting in third place - so for now its a big seven league.

Even this early in the season, the table that shows how these teams have got on in games against each other must be a major cause of concern to Chelsea fans.

It would be no surprise if the finishing order in this table at the end of the season was also the finishing order in the premier league. Chelsea can't afford any more slip ups against the top teams - and they haven't played the seemingly unstoppable Man City yet!!